By Your Side
by PrussianMongrel
Summary: What would you do if the one you love is with another? Better yet, what is England going to do when he thinks that America is with Russia? And will Canada wear a dress in the end? Who knows...
1. Nightmare

_Hey hey, it's my second fiction and I just want to say thanks to all those people out there__ who reviewed and even just read my first one. Just wanting to get my stuff out there really._

_So if this is the first time you have read one of my fictions or your reading because you liked my first one, I do hope you enjoy and don't want to bash me when it's all over. ^.^_

**Dreaming**

"_Ahhhh…! Stop… st… Stop it! That tickles!" Alfred rolled around on the __floor trying to evade the onslaught. But Arthur was bigger and knew exactly where the boy's ticklish spots were._

"_Do you surrender?" Arthur laughed and left the tickling aside for the moment to give the boy a chance to breath._

"_Never!!" Alfred yelled at the top of his voice. He got to his feet and held an imaginary pirate sword in the air just like Arthur had shown him from when he was a pirate._

_Alfred grinned and pounced like a lion upon his guardian with a wild battle cry. Arthur toppled over backwards playfully and pretended to be dieing. _

_Alfred stopped attacking him and looked at the apparently lifeless Englishman. He poked him in the stomach and forehead a couple of times and got no response. _

_But just as he became bored and turned away, Arthur shot up and tackled Alfred to the ground in another tickle attack._

"_Ahhh! No, no, no! Stop it! OK! I surrender. I SURRENDER!!" The boy's face was bright red and he was extremely flustered from all the laughing. Arthur laughed once again and stood up, taking the weight off of his knees. Alfred got up onto his feet as well though slower than the larger blonde. He rubbed his eye sleepily and yawned as Arthur hoisted him up onto his hip and carried him to his room. _

"_Can you tell me a story please?" Alfred whined almost instantly of being within the doorway._

"_What story did you want to hear?"_

"_The one where you…" He paused for yet another yawn. "… where you… um, discovered the new world!'_

"… _But Alfred…" It was the Englishman's turn to pause. How the hell was he meant to respond to this? "But Alfred, You __are__ the new world. You were there."_

"_I know. But I can't remember it." The blue eyes looked into the English green ones, pleading._

_At this point in time, Arthur was laying a struggling and ever stubborn Alfred down and tucking him in. He smiled fondly and so proceeded to tell the story, watching the American's eyes widen in intense interest and anticipation. And eventually, near the end of the story, Alfred's bright inquisitive eyes closed, his breathing evened out and he slipped into his dreams._

_Arthur smiled and lightly kissed the child's rosy lips goodnight. _

- - -

Arthur's eyelids shot open. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Looking around, he confirmed where he was. Alone, in his poorly lit room.

Not a noise could be heard in his entire house. He was completely alone. And his dream and had just re-awoken feelings of when there had been another time when things had been completely different.

Alone in his room, alone in his house, Arthur was shaking violently, the silence undisturbed as he let the silver tears tumble down his face. In an attempt, which he knew to be useless, to stop the shaking, he wrapped his arms around himself in a tight embrace.

The silence was finally broken when a sob tore form his throat. He couldn't take it any more.

For the past year, his dreams had brought painful memories back to life. And it was especially difficult, because he saw the person featured in every one of his dreams nearly every day.

He let himself calm down fully before he pulled back his sheets and climbed out of bed. He then dressed and made his way downstairs towards the kitchen where he made himself a cup of tea. He wasn't up to anything more or less for breakfast.

It could be considered a good thing that he had awoken prematurely on this morning as there was a UN meeting that would begin at 7:00am.

The completely horrible and unfair thing about it was that Arthur would see Alfred there, and that was something the Brit just wasn't up to. Especially since he already felt like complete and total crap.

But some things in the world cannot be helped. And he being England, and England having to attend the UN, just happened to be one of those things.

- - -

Later, though not much later, Arthur was seated at the large table, in the incredibly large and noisy room, where the UN meetings were held.

All the present nations were arguing on a way to combat the effects of global warming.

Regularly, Arthur would join the arguments, often pitting himself against Alfred and Francis and the American's absurd and surreal ideas. These often involved inventing super heroes and giant Japanese constructed robots. And everyone knows how these arguments progress from here.

But on this day, the Englishman stayed silent and still. Lost to his own thoughts and personal problems.

And so, for the next few hours, he sat there silently. He could have even possibly stayed that way forever if he hadn't been alerted to the end of the meeting.

It was Feliciano. Behind him stood Ludwig, Romano, Antonio and Kiku. Ludwig and Romano looked irritable, Antonio wasn't paying much attention to anything except for the south Italian's hand he was holding, and Kiku was as morbid and non-emotional as ever. Everything the way it should be. Everything was normal. Except…

Feliciano was staring at Arthur with his wide chocolate eyes open for once; there was a look of gentle concern across the boy's face.

"Is Arthur OK? You didn't say anything during the meeting." Out of all the people to be concerned for him, the person he least expected it to be was the North Italian. He'd only ever been feared by the boy, as he would admit, he had been a bit of a bully to Feliciano during WII.

"… I'm fine. Just not myself today Feliciano." Arthur forced a small smile onto his face for the brunette.

Feliciano looked up to Ludwig who, after a second, gave a nod and the Italian turned back to Arthur.

"Feli." He said.

"Huh?" Arthur was lost. What in God's name did 'Feli' mean? It was probably Italian for… well for something.

"Arthur can call me Feli." The Italian laughed light heartedly and Arthur saw Ludwig's features soften behind the brunette. And THEN he got it. 'Feli' was an abbreviation of Feliciano. Duh!

"Oh, right, uh… thanks for… for being concerned about me Felicia… Feli" The Englishman said the words slowly.

Romano giggled and his face went the tomato red the Antonio famed him for.

"He called you Felicia!"

Feliciano didn't see the insult or the joke and just looked puzzled at his brother. He turned back to Arthur when Romano settled down.

"Arthur will be safe and he will make sure not to be sad." The little brunette laughed again and surprised Arthur by giving Arthur a… Big… FAT… HUG!!!

Then fairly quickly, Feliciano was bouncing away with a quick wave, his lover and friends close behind him. Arthur stopped Kiku for a moment.

"What's all this about?" the confused Englishman asked.

"Feli-chan was truly worried for you." Kiku answered bluntly, wasting no time, as is the Japanese way. "But he also doesn't want to ever be shot at again and Ludwig-san wants him to become a stronger nation.

Both things are easily achievable and co-existable if Feli-chan befriends and allies himself with as many nations as possible."

The Japanese man smiled with a fondness that Arthur hadn't seen since before the discovery of America, and of course, Alfred.

"You should take more care of yourself as well, Arthur. I will come by this afternoon with a poultice for you before the party." Kiku said fairly quietly, making it obvious that he wouldn't take any objections.

"Party? What Party?" Arthur was just a little bit more confused than five seconds prior to the conversation.

"Oh, yes. Feli keeps forgetting to tell everybody so I've been doing it for him. Tonight he is hosting a 'Fiesta' for what you Europeans call Christmas."

Before Arthur could respond or ask any further questions, Kiku had walked off to rejoin Feliciano's little group. Feliciano himself was talking to Ivan, the three Baltics trembling behind the Russian, but the North Italian spoke to the larger nation with a happy smile and none of his usual fear. He was talking as though he was old friends with Ivan.

Arthur couldn't hear what was going on for the moment, but he could see that Ivan was listening very intently. After a minute or two, the childish grin set in just above his scarf. And then he said loud enough for everyone to hear…

'Feli-chan is my new ally, da? He can be my new friend too." Ivan picked Feliciano up and hugged him. The Italian and Russian laughed with their cheeks pressed together. Feliciano seemed to make friends easier with the tougher nations, i.e.; Ludwig. His weak persona probably provoked the need to protect him in the more powerful nations, whereas the weaker nations just picked on and bullied the twins.

Arthur had to admit, Feliciano had done a good job at taking a load off of his mind. He felt a little better than when he had been alone in his house.

That is until our good American friend, Alfred, stepped into the picture.

Ivan had just let Feliciano regain his feet when Alfred walked up to the Italian.

"Where's my free hug Feli? I hear you've been giving them out."

Feliciano laughed and hugged the American.

'So does this mean I can come to your Fiesta?"

_First Chapter finished. Hoped you enjoyed it and that you will continue to read as the story progresses. Please review. I'm not too fussed if it's good or bad. Some tips would be pretty handy as well if you've got any that could be useful. I would be extremely grateful and will thank you all in my novel if it ever gets published. Lol _

_Lovin' all those out there with a creative and open mind… me, Prussian Mongrel. ^. ^ xo _


	2. Migraines and Poultice

**Migraine**

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

The pounding at the front door had to cease soon. It had been going continuously for the last fifteen minutes.

"Go Away!" He moaned from under his pillow.

Upon his return from the UN, Arthur had taken a half bottle of wine from his refrigerator and skulled it straight from the bottle before collapsing half undressed onto his bed with six aspirin.

Right before he had left the UN, Arthur had seen Alfred getting into Ivan's car to leave.

It wasn't that big of a problem, except for the extremely casual way in which the two nations had stood around each other.

Arthur knew that jealousy was an ugly trait to have. He said it all the time. But he had had a migraine come over him about that time and he knew that it wasn't just plain coincidence.

But to present times, someone in high heaven granted Arthur some peace and the knocking at the door ceased.

But, after only five seconds of heavenly silence, someone in hell decided to put their foot down and say, 'Right, a few seconds of sympathy is enough. Let's piss Arthur off.'

For as the banging on the door ceased, Arthur heard the telltale click of it opening. He wandered why he had left it unlocked. He knew there was a reason.

"Arthur?" The Englishman heard the voice of Kiku travel up the stairs. That was why he hadn't locked the door. Though he had sought of forgotten that the Asian was coming by.

"I'm in here." He groaned from under his pillow as he felt the migraine grow ten times worse in a manner of seconds. Thankfully, it was just loud enough for Kiku to hear for his carpet muffled footsteps had begun to make there way towards his room.

A dip formed in the mattress beside the would be dieing or would be dead, (whatever you prefer), Englishman as Kiku sat down.

"Are you alright?" He asked resting a hand on Arthur's bare shoulder gently in a soothing or comforting manner.

"… Migraine…" was all Arthur could moan. He felt like absolute crap.

He felt a cool finger press to his temple and he couldn't help but whimper painfully. The migraine just continued to worsen.

Kiku took his fingers away from Arthur's temple. He could tell that the Englishman was in a lot of pain at the time and he pulled a small jar out of his pocket.

He unscrewed the lid and used two of his fingers to smear the thick green poultice over Arthur's temples, his forehead and the base of his neck.

The poultice began to work almost immediately as enough of the migraine left, allowing Arthur some relief and he drifted off into sleep.

Kiku continued to sit and watch the sleeping nation, sitting by just incase the deathly headache should return. Though by experience, he knew that it shouldn't.

Arthur smiled in his sleep, tugging at some old forgotten strings of the Asian's heart.

- - -

"_Arthur, Arthur!" The Englishman turned around and saw the ten yr old Alfred running up to him __with a parcel. _

"_Good morning Alfred. You're up early." Arthur smiled and tousled the boy's hair. _

"_I wanted to catch you before you left for the meeting. Happy Birthday." Alfred held up the parcel with a big childish grin across his face. Arthur hesitated before taking the parcel and thanking the boy. He'd completely forgotten about it on account of world affairs. _

"_Open it up Arthur." Alfred urged excitedly as though __he__ were the one receiving the present. _

_Arthur hesitated once again before he tore through the brown paper slowly, much to the excited agitation of Alfred. Inside there was a box. And so he proceeded to open the box. And inside that box…_

"_I made it myself. Do ya like it?"_

"… _I… I-I love it Alfred__." Arthur was almost completely lost for words. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Only because of whom he was receiving it from. But he instantly loved it._

_It__ was a miniature pirate ship. There were a lot of flaws in the little model; after all, a ten yr old boy cannot be expected to master such a craft at such a young age. But the ship had everything, from a mast with sails to a gangplank and tiny cannons with cannon balls._

'_I made the cannon balls with dead bullets I found lying around." Alfred said, pleased by his effort and of course, the Englishman's approval. _

"_How long did it take you to make?" _

"_Since you first let me into the workshop, till yesterday after you went to bed."_

"_Oh my go- really? You've been making this for 2 YEARS?!" _

"_Yup. I wanted to do something really special for you and you always tell me that the best thing for a good finished product is extreme patience and care._

_But I still messed up cos I got rushed sometimes." Alfred smiled, lighting up his bright blue eyes. "It's not as good as the toys you make for me though."_

_Arthur sank to his knees, being careful to place the little ship aside safely, and he pulled Alfred into a hug._

"_No, it's not… It's better. And it's the best gift anyone's ever given me."_

- - -

Kiku became concerned when Arthur began to shake horribly and cry. He was awake, but had not yet opened his eyes.

"Did the headache come back?" He asked, ready to reopen the jar of poultice if necessary. He had cleaned the dried poultice off earlier.

Arthur didn't reply. Just continued in his emotional outburst.

Kiku rested his hand in the Englishman's blonde hair. And unconsciously began to stroke it soothingly, and it wasn't too much longer after that, when he began to calm down.

He stopped shaking, but the silvery tears continued to run down his face in a messy race to the pillow. He had opened his eyes, the green staring listlessly into space. Kiku continuously stroked Arthur's hair, keeping him calm. Though inside, a long forgotten part of him longed to reach out to the Brit.

"Are you alright?" The Asian asked bending over so he was looking into Arthur's eyes.

Arthur nodded slowly. "I'm fine." His voice was broken as though he had a very sore, very dry throat.

"Arthur-san should get a drink." Kiku advised, already him to sit up. He just nodded in response. "Is the migraine gone?"

Arthur nodded again, though only very lightly, for he still ached a tiny bit and he didn't want the migraine to return. Once steadily on his feet, he made his way downstairs to his kitchen in his trousers and socks. Kiku followed closely behind.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked as the he waited for the water to boil.

"An hour." Kiku replied.

"How long were you sitting there?"

"An hour. Arthur… what did Alfred give you?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, knitting his eyebrows together in a frown.

"… In your dream… when you were asleep, you were mumbling." Kiku said from across the bench. It took a while for the Englishman to answer. But he eventually did so as he prepared a tea for each of them.

"Oh… uh, um… Nothing much, just a crappy old model Alfred gave me when he was younger…"

Arthur looked away and bit down on his bottom lip to stop another emotional outburst from occurring. But he bit down a little too forcefully and fresh unbidden tears sprang to the corners o his eyes. He blinked what he could back and wiped away what tears had already fallen with the back of his hand.

"Oh, OK. You mean the crappy old pirate ship that you display so proudly on your mantle piece and said so yourself, that it was the best gift anyone has ever given you." The Asian said taking his cup of tea. He only drank it out of politeness. English cooking was never something you had voluntarily.

Arthur looked stunned at Kiku. He didn't blink. He looked down at the tea in his lap; they had progressed to the lounge room, the smooth surface of his beverage disturbed by the ever flowing salty tears of the Englishman.

Kiku instantly regretted his words. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with his words, but he had known that Arthur was lying when he had said that the model was crappy. But the Asian didn't like being lied to and… well… all the Englishman continued to go on about was Alfred.

"Why does Arthur cry so much?" Kiku asked. Arthur looked back up at him. He knew that the Japanese man did not mean any harm by the question and so decided to tell him the truth.

"I miss Alfred, Kiku." He said. "I miss him so much that it hurts. More than you know."

For a second, Kiku was saddened by Arthur's reply. He did know how that felt. And he knew that there was no limit to the pain.

'… Why do you not simply tell him of your feelings?"

"I can't. He's already in a relationship."

"If he is, then I do not know of it. Who is he with?"

"…Ivan. I saw them getting into the same car… He went home with Ivan."

Kiku stared at Arthur incredulously for a moment, and then he failed to suppress a giggle.

"You are very funny Arthur-san. Alfred is signing a new alliance treaty with Ivan before Feli-chan's Fiesta. Their relationship has improved in the last year, but not as much as you perceive. They are just friends." Kiku giggled again.

Arthur sat as still and silent as stone for the next five minutes if not more, long enough for his tea to go lukewarm.

Another spurt of giggles brought him out of his stone like state. He shook his head and smiled as the tears dried on his face.

"So are you going to tell him of your feelings now?" Kiku asked sipping his tea as fast as he could, but still interrupting himself with giggles at Arthur's assumption occasionally.

"Maybe… Even that I now know that I am able to, I'm not so sure that I'd have the courage to." Arthur still had the sad feeling in his chest, but it didn't hurt as much as it had before.

"Well you should. You Europeans keep your feelings bottled up too much." The Asian looked up at Arthur's clock, deciphered the time difference, and smiled. "Arthur-san should drink and dress fast… Feli-chan's party starts soon."

Arthur frowned when he realized that Kiku would drag him kicking and screaming to the Fiesta.

- - -

_Yay… All done._

_Please tell me what you think of the second installment and if you've the imagination… where do you think it is going… I would just like to hear your point of view. _

_Oh, and I have to thank my computer for auto saving during a big storm when the power cut out… Lol _

_Third installment to come sooner than you think…_

_Hoping you are all enjoying the way I mess with England/Arthur's life…_

_Prussian Mongrel Luvs you all… XD_


	3. Seeing Closeness in a would be enemy

**Fiesta**

Feliciano had set his house up fairly well for the Fiesta. Though Arthur was sure he'd been helped out a lot by Ludwig.

All in all, it was a warm and colorful atmosphere, with many different foods, to cater to many different tastes, lined the longest of the bare walls.

Arthur hadn't seen Alfred or Ivan yet, and he definitely didn't want to spend time with Francis. But he didn't want to be left alone by himself either.

So he mostly stuck around Kiku and Feliciano and the rest of their group.

Within the next few hours, Arthur learned so much about each one of them and their group as one.

The Axis powers were so much livelier than the Allied Forces, though in a different sense. There was an unrivaled closeness, a bond as it were, that was in each of them. Even Mathew, who wasn't an Axis, had the same sort of bond to the group. In the Allied Forces however, there was no such bond. Only rivalry and contest.

For the next few hours, there was no sign of Alfred or Ivan. Though at around 8pm there was a knock at the door to signal the late arrival of Gilbert and Mathew.

At around 8:30pm, people began to dish out the food onto their plates, pick a group and table, and sit down to eat.

Arthur ended up sitting with Kiku, Feliciano, Ludwig, Gilbert, Mathew, Antonio and Romano.

"Let's tell stories." Feliciano said out of the blue halfway through dinner. "About the best thing to ever happen to us."

"…OK Feli, sounds awesome." Gilbert said with a devilish grin. "You go first."

"…Um, OK." Feliciano paused to think as to what he would say. "The best thing that ever happened to me was… when Germany said that he'd never forget me and he would always help me and then he gave me some really yummy wurst for once and it was sunny and there was a cat. Your turn Germaneeeeeee…"

Ludwig looked up and smiled.

"When I didn't have to make any more cuckoo clocks for that idiot Francis." He grinned and Prussia snorted some of his dinner back onto his plate.

"I heard that you stupid cad!" Francis called from across the room.

Arthur grinned and just about everyone else in the room chuckled or giggled.

Next it was Mathew's turn to tell his story.

"When Gilbert got the courage to ask me out and he basically tripped over himself in embarrassment. He was really sweet." The Canadian boy smiled up at his Prussian lover. Arthur noted that when he was around the Axis powers, Mathew somehow became less invisible or forgettable or whatever you want to call it.

"Well my best time ever because it was so awesome," Gilbert smiled back at Mathew, "was when Matt said that he'd marry me. And the wedding is in two months and you had all better be there."

The ex-nation kissed Mathew's forehead.

"OK… Our young Canadian friend has turned this proud Prussian warrior into a pile of sappy mush." Antonio said, though he was being a bit of a hypocrite because the situation is the same for him and Romano. "Anyway, my best day ever was when I came got home and found the house in one piece and Lovino was sweeping in the kitchen while dinner was cooking on the stove. Ahhh… you should be that way more often Chiquita." The Spaniard mused into the South Italian's hair.

"But then you'd have no day to cherish." Ludwig said.

"What's your best Ni-chan?" Feliciano asked.

"… When stupid Spain actually shut up and helped with the house work." Romano's face tinted red when his lover looked down at him, surprised.

"If Lovino wants me to help more often, he just has to ask." Antonio rubbed the boy's shoulder. Romano continued to glare into space with his reddening face. If space was an unaware Ludwig slash potato bastard.

"What about you Kiku?" Mathew asked. "Any particular moment in time that you favor?"

"Yes. Far better than all of yours. To me anyway." The Asian said in his usual blunt manner.

"What is it?" Feliciano asked.

"The day Yao ceased claiming that he was my brother."

"You rude little asshole, aru!" Yao screeched from across the room.

It was another comment and reaction that received a fair amount of laughter from all the nations in the room.

"What about you Arthur?" Gilbert asked when the laughter had left and the other nations had returned to their own conversations.

"…No… its fine, I'll pass." Arthur replied.

"Awww. Come on Arthur. We all told a story." Feliciano pulled on the Englishman's sleeve in a nagging way.

"But I'm not an Axis or anything…"

"So? Matt's not an Axis and I'm not even a nation any more. It's just a little bit of fun." Gilbert said reassuringly. Well… as much as the stubborn smartass could…

After a few more seconds of intense stares from the others at the table, Arthur gave in to peer pressure.

"OK, all right. I'll tell you." A couple of people, namely Feliciano, Gilbert and Mathew, cheered silently for him. "The bets thing that ever happened to me was… on one of my birthdays quite a long while back. Alfred was still a little boy then and… he surprised me by giving me a little pirate ship that he had made all by himself."

There was quite a long awkward silence…

"That is sooo cute!" Feliciano exclaimed.

"Adorable." Ludwig agreed with his little lover.

"Do ya really still have that old thing?" Arthur froze at the sound of that voice. "C'mon. Earth to Iggy. Did ya turn to stone or somethin'? Alfred stood behind Arthur; Ivan was just off to the side.

"Alfred was cute as a little boy, Da?" The Russian said.

"Yes, Ivan. He was." Arthur stood up out of his chair and walked away without even looking at Alfred, leaving the celebrations prematurely.

Once outside, with the door closed behind him, he realized that he had forgotten his coat and it had most conveniently decided to snow. It was a little strange for Italy but he knew that the snow would be gone by morning, though it didn't mean that the cold didn't get to him.

However, he did not go back inside to retrieve his coat and he began to walk in the direction of the airport. Though he couldn't really tell if it was the right direction because the Italian country side was too bloody dark to see more than a meter either side of himself which was really beginning to piss him off.

"Arthur!" The Englishman heard his name being called out from somewhere behind him by Alfred and he automatically broke into a run.

Alfred continued to call out for Arthur, but soon he could hear it no more.

He continued to run. It was refreshing and the steady beat was calming against the hot tears that had a mind of there own. But he was running blindly, and in one wrong step landed his left foot heavily in a slick patch of mud. His shoe came off and he heard a loud snap as his ankle twisted. He cried out but knew that no one could hear him, and his feet flew up and out from under him.

Landing on his back, he began to fall down a ravine uncontrollably. He tried to grab a hold of something to slow himself down, but only tore the skin off of his palms with the sharp rocks and gravel that littered the ravine.

His back slammed against an unexpected tree and his right arm dislocated. He screamed out as loud as he was able.

It was the blind human desperation to survive that made him reach out with his good hand, relentlessly fighting for a hand hold.

A hot searing pain spread across the back of his skull as a he smashed into a sharp boulder and stars flashed before his eyes.

Eventually, he began to feel himself slow down and he caught hold of the root of a gnarly looking tree, but his hand was slick with blood and his nerves ached. The hand hold came easily out of his grip and he fell a few more meters until he came to a complete painful halt at the base of the ravine.

But even if he had come to rest, his ordeal was not over.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur saw that he had stopped under a dead log, teetering on the edge of a boulder just above him.

If he had been lucky, the tree would have not moved or it would have fallen away from him and completely missed him, giving him time to regain his energy and find a way out of the ravine in his state.

But Arthur was not blessed with such luck at recent times and a slight gust of blizzard wind, the log paused as if on automatic suspense, before coming down with all its weight onto the base of his back and his upper legs. His spine screamed under the extra weight.

He bit back a scream that was on the edge of his lips and tried using his good hand to pull himself free, hoping that the log wasn't pressed down on him too hard. But it was no use.

He felt splinters move around on the skin of his back as they became embedded in the bruised and bleeding flesh, the scream finally bursting from his throat.

He rested his chin in the soil beneath him and cried. He felt useless and weak. He was cut off from any help and he was losing blood fast. And to top it all off, he was certain, that no matter how bizarre the weather was for North Italy, that a blizzard was on the way. And the snow wouldn't be gone by morning.

The pain was making Arthur feel incredibly sick and he welcomed the pain numbing darkness with open arms. Figuratively speaking.

- - -

"Do you catch him?" Kiku asked, wringing his hands together.

"Nah. Must've just walked really fast or something." Alfred replied, scratching the back of his head.

"It gets really dark here at night time. I'll hope he'll be OK." Feliciano was holding Arthur's coat and worrying his head off. It was so freakin' adorable.

"Oh peeshaw! Artie's a real stiff. He'll be fine." Francis said with a smile. Feliciano just looked up at the Frenchman dumbly. And then to his German lover for answers.

"What he means to say is that Arthur is a sensible person and won't do anything stupid." Ludwig rubbed the Italian's shoulder reassuringly.

"…Veee-! But he hasn't been feeling well lately and what if he trips or falls or something." Feliciano would have felt absolutely horrible if something had happened to Arthur on a visit to his place. And Ludwig always told him that he had to look after guests. But the Italian had no idea how close he had been to Arthur's current situation.

"Don't worry Feli." Alfred smiled at him. "I'll ring him in the morning. And then I'll tell him to ring you to make you feel better"

"It's snowing." Ivan was looking out the window.

"-Ve! It usually snows just a little around this time of year." Feliciano said.

"Do you get many blizzards?" The Russian asked, turning to look at them.

"None, that I can remember anyway." Romano said.

Most the nations had left for the airport shortly after Arthur, though it looked like they would be snowed in. For outside the window, as Ivan pulled open the curtains for them all to see, snow was coming down fast and hard in a great torrent of winds.

"Holy crap…" Gilbert said. "If Arthur got caught in this… He's a goner."

Ludwig gave his brother the most epic of death stares as Feliciano began to whimper.

"How will Alfred call to see if he is alright if he's snowed in?" The little Italian whined.

"Relax; he's got his cell on him." Alfred said.

"Come on Feliciano. We'll tidy up." Ludwig pulled his little lover along. "It will take your mind off things for a while." Feliciano nodded solemnly and followed after the German, hanging Arthur's coat up on the coat rack.

Alfred pulled out his cell and punched in Arthur's number. It took a moment or two for it to dial, and then he waited for the Englishman to pick up. He had decided to call early on impulse because of the blizzard.

It wouldn't have really worried him if there was no answer. Arthur had been avoiding Alfred for the past year and probably wouldn't answer if he saw that it was him calling. But just as it did in Jurassic park, an electronical ring tone could be heard faintly from nearby. Alfred swallowed as it grew in volume.

Finally the ringing stopped. And Alfred was put through to message bank. He hung his phone up, and walked over to the coat rack where he dug through Arthur's coat and found what he had been dreading.

"Uh… Ivan?" Alfred said, clearing his throat. The Russian turned away from the window once again, and he looked at the American.

"Da?"

"… Arthur forgot his cell." Alfred failed to suppress the worry in his voice.

"This is simple, da? If he does not call Feli to let him know that he has left it behind within the next twenty four hours, then we know he is no at his home and he is not at the airport with a payphone." Ivan smiled, attempting to hide his own fears. "Either way, we cannot conduct a search until the blizzard is over…"

"You think he has gotten into trouble?" Alfred asked.

"Da…" Ivan sighed, nodding slowly into his scarf. "If he is not at the airport now…" He didn't need to say any more…

- - -

_Third installment everyone… what do ya think?_

_This was one of my favorite parts to write but not because I dislike England or anything… I mean c'mon… He's one of my favorite characters… I just have an uncanny knack for screwing up peoples lives. _

_It will have a happy ending, but I have a few alternative endings. If you review, Please pick a letter to choose one. Thank you. _

_A:_

_Arthur survives and is taken to hospital. A few months later he is taken home by Alfred and they become a couple._

_B: _

_Arthur survives, but when he is at home, Kiku helps him out, healing his heart and his wounds. Arthur's dreams begin to leave him alone and his relationship improves greatly with Alfred, but he and Kiku become a couple._

_C:_

_Arthur is taken to hospital, but he is too injured to survive. As he dies, Kiku and Alfred sit with him. He tells them that he loves them both. And so he is glad that he dies so he is not with one but wanting the other as well. _

_Over his lifeless body__, before any of the other nations find out, Kiku and Alfred talk about Arthur and his odd little quirks, i.e.; remembering him together._

_After the funeral a few weeks later, the two nations begin to hang out together more in Arthur's memory. A relationship could develop._

_D:_

_Arthur is taken to hospital and spends his healing period with Feliciano who keeps blaming himself. They go to Gilbert and Mathews wedding. Arthur sees Alfred for the first time since he was released from hospital but is too shy to approach him. He hangs out with Kiku again during the reception. But Mathew gets Alfred to approach Arthur just as he and Gilbert are leaving for their honeymoon. All I can say is that there is a big kiss at the end._

_I have a feeling that D will be the favored one. I don't really know. I'll be happy any way the vote tilts. _

_All creative minds…get more creative and stuff…_

_Prussian Mongrel xo_


	4. Blood stained Prince

_Hi, um sorry for the wait guys. I already had this bit written out on paper as I do with all my stories before they become typed, but my mind created like, several other fictions within the time of the last chapter being published and this one. I humbly apologize and hope you enjoy this lame'o chapter._

- - -

**Lost and Found**

The top of the sun was just hitting the horizon, but it remained as dark as night and the nations remaining in Italy's home couldn't tell that day was dawning on them. Even if it was the second morning to dawn on them since Arthur's disappearance, it seemed as though it was just one long night and most of the nations that remained hadn't slept at all. Time was lost with the blizzard.

With everyone's help, the whole house was cleaned over double time. But no one felt the relief and joy of completing all the work. Each was internally and externally worried for Arthur.

The mobile reception had cut out for everyone, but Alfred had taken Feliciano's house phone hostage and had spent the entire night calling the airport to ask if the Englishman was there. But the lines were packed up with countless others calling to ensure the safety of their loved ones in the Christmas blizzard.

Kiku watched as the American paced anxiously around the room as far as the phone cord would allow him. He also looked around the room. Everything was silent and other than the anxious blonde, there was very little or no movement at all in the whole place.

Both Feliciano and Romano had retired to a much needed and much delayed siesta. They had gone at the same time and Ludwig and Antonio had tucked their sleepy lovers in. 

Ivan was still at the window, his violet eyes used to looking through blizzards, so he was looking out for any sign of Arthur.

Francis, Antonio and Gilbert were sitting in a small group near the fire that Ludwig had made. Mathew was curled up and fast asleep beside them, resting his head in Gilbert's lap. The albino his self was stroking the boy's blonde hair while talking with the other members of the Bad Touch Trio.

"Honestly, I think the Bad Touch Trio is falling apart." France said.

"Eh? Really? What makes you think that?" Gilbert asked.

"Well both of you are settling down. Gilbo here is getting married and you've been married for nearly a year Antonio. I think I'm gonna be the lonely old pervert." The Frenchman admitted his fear.

"You could be a soloist." Antonio suggested. "Not sharing the sleazy spotlight with anyone, ya know." Francis grinned devilishly at the Spaniard. The trio laughed quietly.

"Will you three shut up! Alfred yelled. "I'm trying to get through to the airport."

He'd actually managed to get through once and give a description: One medium sized pissed off Englishman with ginourmas bushy eyebrows, green eyes, blonde hair and could possibly be talking to invisible faerie friends.

He'd meant no harm or insult with the description, because he really wanted to find Arthur, but, at such a high stress level, it was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

But he hadn't had contact with the airport for very long because he had been using his cell and the reception had cut out when he was talking to a call taker. In anger and frustration he had destroyed his cell phone by throwing against the wall.

Now, as the call failed to go through once again, Alfred sighed and pressed redial.

Dead on his feet, he was forced to give up the phone to Kiku so he could lie down for a few hours.

As he lay there on the couch, he listened to Kiku speak rapidly on the phone.

Knowing that the airport was useless at such a time, he had taken to calling local hotels and revenues. Alfred cursed himself for not thinking of that, but even if he was getting through, Kiku was having very little or no luck.

But as he listened to the descriptions that the Asian gave, the American found himself learning more about Arthur than he ever had.

"Excuse me, I am sorry for waking you up at such a time, but I'm looking for a blonde Englishman, Arthur Kirkland. He has large eye brows and green eyes and is in a bit of emotional distress at present times. He has recently begun to suffer migraines. If you have paid host to him last night then you would have noticed that he wakes up crying and shaking as if in great pain."

He heard the other end of the line crackle noisily as the Hotel manager replied.

"I see. Thank you… Yes, pleas do put a description out." Kiku hung up the phone and sighed.

"What's wrong with Arthur? Is he sick?" Alfred asked. Kiku looked at him, surprised, as he had thought that the American was asleep. He smiled grimly and sat down beside Alfred.

"I should not confess for Arthur… but he loves you Alfred. Yesterday afternoon he told me how much it's hurting him to miss you so much. And I fear, far worse than he knows too.

For a short while he believed that you and Ivan were a couple. That is how I believe he got his migraine."

"Then why didn't he just tell me?"

"Well, on our flight here yesterday… he told me after much persuasion, that he could not tell you because of your independence. He didn't want to feel like he was taking it from you, and if he wasn't, he'd still feel like he was taking opportunities away form you if you were in a relationship with him."

The phone rang in Kiku's hand, making both of them jump.

"Hello. Kiku Honda speaking."

Kiku nodded a couple of times, though the person on the other end of the line couldn't actually see it. But other than that, Alfred had no idea as what going on.

"Yes… thank you. I am very glad to hear that he is alright. Pass my thanks onto your family." Kiku hung up the phone.

"Did they find Arthur?!" His raised voice attracted everyone else to the room. Even a freshly awoken Feliciano and Romano. Kiku looked at each of them before answering.

"No. The hotel manager's son made it home safe."

"Then why the hell did he call you back?!" The American asked angrily. Kiku sighed.

"The son had to walk home through the blizzard from his Grandmother's. His dog became interested in a trail at the top of a ravine and led the boy down. The dog led the boy to a large sharp boulder. It had blood on it and… a piece of torn clothing and… some blonde hair, matted in the blood. Before he could investigate further, the dog ran after a rabbit and they soon were at the inn where we were immediately informed."

There was a moment's silence, everyone taking time to soak things in.

"What?! We have to go and find him now!" Alfred tried getting up, but Ivan pushed him back down. "What are you doing?! Arthur could be dying or dead already. We have to-…"

"The blizzard is dying down but not enough for people who are not used to this weather to survive in it." Ivan said, cutting the American off and pushing him down once more. "It is a miracle that the boy and his dog even survived. But you are tired and distressed. I will go and search for now while you rest."

"I'm coming too!" Feliciano said and ran for the coat rack for a coat and scarf.

"You can't go out there by yourself." Ludwig protested.

"Yes I can Germany. I know this land even better than you and I got a full night sleep." The little Italian huffed. "And I won't be alone. Ivan will be with me." The Russian looked a little surprised at being trusted so quickly by one who once feared him, but he smiled warmly.

"I'll take care of him Ludwig, da." He said. "You need rest or you'll fall off your feet."

"Hey, I'm comin' too. I got a bit of sleep and I'm used to this kinda weather as well." Gilbert said. "Don't worry West, or you either Alfred, just come and join us later when everybody has had a rest." The Prussian grabbed a coat and the three that made up the search party walked out of the door before anyone else could find a reason to tag along.

It was quite an odd assortment for a search party too. A bouncy, happy Italian, an ex-nation who had used to be a warrior that was a force to be reckoned with, and a childish looking, scary ass Russian who couldn't decide between a forcet and a sunflower.

Alfred watched anxiously after the closed door, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

He felt someone sit beside him and drape their arms over his shoulders in a light hug.

Looking over, he saw it was his brother, Mathew.

"Don't feel bad Alfred. I have someone to worry about as well you know… we all do."

- - -

Ivan watched curiously, through the swirling snow, at his two companions.

Feliciano was leading them towards the nearest ravine to search first, and Gilbert, well, Gilbert was just following along solemnly. Actually being quiet and not saying a word for once in his life.

Ivan had come because it was as warm to him as a sunny day to America. This weather was nothing new to him. Feliciano had come because he knew the area better than anyone.

But what impulse did Gilbert have for coming along?

"Gilbert… why did you come along?" Feliciano asked. Ivan was surprised as this question had been the very one he had been about to ask.

"… I'm marrying Mathew. That would make Alfred my brother in law. Alfred has been really distressed about this whole issue so I thought I'd do the right thing and help him out.

Plus Matt wanted to come along but he was afraid that if he stepped out into the blizzard that everyone would forget about him and he'd really disappear." Gilbert smirked.

For a few minute they continued to walk on silently.

"Ahhh…! – Veee-! I think the last time it snowed this much was when I was living with Grandpa Rome." Feliciano sneezed and wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve.

"Ah Feli, you're getting a cold. West is gonna be so mad." Gilbert smirked again. He loved it when his brother got angry. Especially when he was the one who made him so.

"Some snow got up my nose." The little Italian laughed. "Ve-! Ivan? Is the blizzard over? I can see everything clearly now and the snowflakes are heavy and wet. I think it's raining."

Ivan looked up at the sky and felt a few wet drops land on his face.

"Da Feli. The snow is going away. It's just really light rain now." Ivan smiled, glad that the snow wasn't going to stay much longer. The start of rain meant that the sun was not far away.

"I see the ravine!" Feliciano yelled, jogging over to the edge. His foot caught on something and he almost fell fatally over the edge. Lucky for him there was a Prussian at his left arm and a Russian at his right.

"Be careful Feli-chan." Ivan said. He was just on the brink of beginning to understand why Ludwig was such a worry wart when it came to Feliciano.

The Italian just Ve-d with a smile before pulling out of their grip and going back to what had tripped him up. He dusted the snow off and picked it up.

For a moment he didn't say anything, but then he turned around and held out a shoe.

It was scuffed and covered with mud. He turned it so they could see writing on the bottom.

MADE IN LONDON

Without much being said, they helped each other, mostly Feliciano, to slowly make their way down the steep climb.

Only after the first few meters did they begin to see the evidence that Arthur had fallen down the Ravine.

Gravel and rocks that had been protected from the blizzard by the thick clump of trees were lightly covered in blood, hair and tiny scraps of torn clothing.

About thirty meters from the top, they came to the boulder that Kiku had described to them.

Gilbert looked around while the two inspected the boulder and saw it about twenty hours beneath them.

"I SEE HIM!" The Prussian began to sprint recklessly down to the base of the ravine.

Feliciano and Ivan close behind him though Ivan caught Feliciano by the coat whenever he went too fast. He **had** promised Ludwig that he would look after the boy.

Only a meter or so away from Arthur, they all came to a complete halt when they saw just how bad he was.

His right arm stuck out awkwardly, there was a little bit of scabbing where bits of sharp wood and splinters had pierced and pressed into the skin of his lower back by the dead log.

Looking over the log, they saw that his left ankle was at an angle, a sharp bit of yellowish bone protruding from a gash in the skin.

Arthur's palm's were completely shredded and caked with dried blood. His face was covered in cuts, bruises and scratches and there was a large patch of dried blood matted into his hair.

His clothes were torn, his eyes resting peacefully closed… His skin was too pale. Deathly pale. It had a tiny amount of blue coloring to it from being outside for the entire blizzard.

Gilbert knelt down and held his fingers under Arthur's nose and in front of his mouth to feel for breath.

Nothing.

The Prussian looked up at the other two anxious nations. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. So he closed it and shook his head slowly, casting his gaze downwards.

Ivan sat down on one side of Arthur, leaning against the log. Gilbert did the same on the other side of the Englishman, but he closed his eyes, to be with himself. He was exhausted and had lied to everyone about getting any sleep.

Feliciano however, fell to his knees in front of Arthur.

He began to cry choking sobs and brushed stray snow out of the blonde hair of the Englishman.

Big fat tears rolled down the Italian's face. It was his fault. Arthur wouldn't have fallen if he didn't have the Fiesta, or gotten Arthur to tell his story, or even talk to him at the UN. And now because of him, Arthur had died cold and alone. Trapped by a mere dead log at the base of the ravine with no hope of seeing his friends and loved ones again.

The silvery tears ran off the boy's face and splashed on Arthur's cheeks and eyelids. It appeared as though he were crying as well.

Ivan started. He was completely freaked out by something other than his sister, Natalia.

As Feliciano's big fat tears landed across Arthur's face, it changed.

His eyebrows drew together in a frown and his eyes slightly scrunched tighter as if irritated.

"Italy! Stop crying!" Ivan said, sitting up straight. Gilbert's eyes snapped open and he looked at them.

"What's goin' on?" He asked. Feliciano had stopped the flow of tears and moved back from Arthur as Ivan moved closer.

Ivan leaned over the Englishman, not answering Gilbert, and wiped hi gloved finger with a bit of pressure over a cut on Arthur's cheek.

Again his features changed, this time contorting into a painful expression.

"Feli?" Gilbert said, not taking his eyes off of Arthur. The Italian looked up at him. "Talk to him. Get him conscious. Ivan and I will try to move the log off."

Ivan stood up but took his coat off and laid it over Arthur. He had no need no for it as he could feel the cold no more than he could feel the breath of a butterfly. Once the coat was secure and covering most of the Englishman's torso, Ivan helped Gilbert find a way to get the log off with out crushing another part of Arthur's body.

Feliciano sat beside Arthur's head, coaxing him into the world of the living. He had taken off his scarf and made a cushion out of it for him.

"Arthur? Don't worry about the pain anymore because we're here to help you. And we're going to get you out of this and you'll get all better and sit in a really warm place with really warm food and tea… and you can talk to your faerie friends again." Feliciano paused, thinking what else he could say. "… and Alfred is really worried about you and so is everybody else. And we all want you to come home and be safe and happy." He paused again, seeing if Arthur was waking up. "… And Alfred misses you just like you are missing him and he doesn't care that you are afraid of taking his independence away, because you won't be. Alfred loves Arthur too." Feliciano and most of the other nations had been eavesdropping on Alfred and Kiku when they were talking on this subject.

He sighed and began to brush some dirt off of Arthur's face. Once again the Italian began to cry.

"I'm not going… to die… Feli…" The voice that spoke these words was dry and hoarse and almost inaudible. But Feliciano squealed in happiness all the same.

Arthur's bright green eyes, though very dull at the same time, were looking up at the Italian tiredly. .

He was smiling very weakly which quickly turned into a grimace of pain when Ivan and Gilbert made their first attempt at moving the log. The fingers of his good hand curled up in the mud and snow and he failed to suppress a groan.

"Don't be such a baby." Gilbert laughed. He didn't mean to be so arrogant, but he was just really happy that Arthur was alive and it was how he expressed his happiness. Arthur laughed a little too, knowing it was just a joke.

"What took you so long…?" His throat was dry and he needed water.

"Oh… ya know… We had to decide whether we liked you or not."

"Asshole." Arthur laughed huskily before a fit of coughing.

"I'm gonna get you some water." Feliciano said getting up and disappearing into the trees.

"Feli! Wait! Don't go off by yourself!" Gilbert called out but Feliciano was already gone.

"Don't worry about him." Ivan said. "He knows his way around."

"I don't doubt that… he's just so freakin' clumsy."

"How long…have I been here…?" Arthur asked. There was a moment of silence.

"Two days tonight." Ivan said. The warmth from the Russian's coat had allowed a little color return to the Englishman's skin. Though he still looked too pale to be really alive.

"Is that how long… Alfred's been exhausting himself?"

"The only reason we know that it's been that long is because Ivan is a paranormal blizzard freak and could tell the time from the sun and moon even through the clouds. … Don't worry. Like Feli said, we'll get you out soon…" Gilbert said.

"I hope so…" Arthur trailed off and went quiet.

Feliciano came back quite quickly with a soaked and dripping towel.

"Where did you get that towel?" Ivan asked.

"I brought it with me when we walked out of the door." He replied, smiling as he knelt down beside Arthur again. "I got some water for you." The brunette whispered and wrung the towel a little at a time so that Arthur could drink.

"Thank you Feliciano." The Englishman said when he'd drunk as much as he could.

"Feli." The Italian corrected him. "And it's ok. You've been through a lot and it was my fault so I want to help you any way."

The Englishman smiled up at Feliciano, but winced in incredible pain as the boy began to gently clean the cuts around his face and hair with the now damp not dripping towel, almost like a mother would.

Ivan and Gilbert had another go at moving the log, but to no avail. It only caused Arthur to be in more pain.

"It's no use…We need help" Gilbert said wiping a cold sweat off of his brow.

"Da." Was all that Ivan said.

"I'll go and get Germaneee… Germany is strong." Feliciano stood up and bolted back up and out of the ravine.

"Italy, wait!!" Gilbert called out, running after him. "West won't be very strong if you die!" The two disappeared and then there was silence for a short while. And then-"You idiot!!! Maybe if you opened your eyes once in a while you'd see where the trees are!"

But after that, Arthur and Ivan were completely alone…

Arthur couldn't see the Russian, but he could hear his feet crunching down on the snow and splashing in the mud, the rain had gotten a little heavier.

And before he could tell where the Russian had gone, he felt a sharp intolerable pain in his right arm. The Englishman screamed as much as his reserves of energy would allow.

He heard more footsteps and then an excruciating pain shot up his left leg. Not enough energy was left in him to let him scream, and so he fainted.

Ivan tied off the knot. He felt naked without his scarf, but it was a miracle that the frostbite around the wound on Arthur's ankle was only first degree and he didn't want it to get any worse.

At least he hadn't screamed when he pushed the bone shard back into place as he had when he had relocated his arm.

Walking back around the log, Ivan saw a very motionless Arthur. He tested for breath and smiled. He was just sleeping.

"You are very lucky to be alive, da."

- - -

_MEGA SIGH!!! Man I'm so exhausted._

_11:55pm on 10/04/2010. YAWN!!! And I still got two more chapters to goooo…!!! DX_

_Ok… two things… One you're all AWESOME… especially if you review… and two… This story needs more readers… If it's not a hassle, could you recommend to people…? And don't worry… I got loads of other crap that needs reading too so you are in fact very lucky because you're not the one who has to write it all and then type it… Sorry if I'm old fashioned… Also… you've got until the next chapter to vote… because then my mind will be made up… and you're allowed to change your minds if this chapter has swayed your decision. And if you have any ideas for a mini scene in one of the next two chapters then let me know because I'm running out of steam for this puppy…_

_Honestly… I must be a female Jim Carry today…_

_PRUSSIAN MONGREL_

_PEACE OUT!!!!!! XD XD XD =. =_


	5. The Calimari has Survived

_Sorry__, to the few who are reading this story. I have to apologize for it's lateness as I have been moving house recently and just haven't had the time to write… and I suppose you could be angry at me for all the role-play on face book I've been doing instead of writing… Man that's so not healthy… _

_You're not gonna stop me though~! ROOOAAARRR~! _

_Just to be a bit of a rambler before I let you read the next chapter, I love role-play. And if you ask why the hell then I'll just say it's because it's escaping reality… and a great way to sort of write stories with other people if you know what I mean… X3 *shot*_

Alfred was pacing again. He'd slept for a mere one hour, and Feliciano, Ivan and Gilbert had been gone for an agonizing three.

"You should calm down and have something to drink." Kiku said. "Or better yet, eat. Arthur would not want Alfred-san to die of hunger over worrying for him. He'd want you to be strong." The Asian held out a bowl of near cold rice that he had been trying to get the American to eat for the last half hour. Alfred ignored him.

Behind them, Ludwig was sitting with Mathew, talking quietly as they worried about their lovers.

Antonio and Romano were in the kitchen, cleaning it over thoroughly as they talked to Francis who sat at the small breakfast table with a bottle of wine.

And though he continued to deny it, everyone knew that Yao was being overly concerned for Ivan. Though he and everyone else knew that it was the Russian who had more chance of surviving in the current conditions than anyone else.

It seemed that everyone had someone to worry for.

"At least the snow is gone and the rain is washing it away." Mathew said when his twin past him for the seventy billionth time. "It will make it easier to see him if he has fallen…" He didn't say anymore and fell silent, though for once everyone had heard him loud and clear.

"If something happen to him Matt…" Alfred sat down beside the Canadian. Ludwig stood and left to help clean again, sensing the brother's need for privacy.

Kiku had claimed that he needed fresh air and stepped out the front door.

"He'll be fine Al…" Mathew rubbed Alfred's shoulder. "He survived the career of a pirate and even amazingly his own cooking." The Canadian paused as he caught a glimpse of a smile on Alfred's face.

"Thanks Matt." Alfred said and smiled properly with tired eyes.

"Ne Ne…! Germaneeeee…!" Feliciano burst through the front door, scarf-less, puffed and with a face covered in tear stains.

Gilbert walked in and was closely followed by Kiku.

Feliciano saw Ludwig in the kitchen and ran straight past a bewildered Mathew and Alfred.

"Did you find him…?" Matt asked as he walked over to his soon to be husband.

"Uh… Yeah, we found him." Gilbert replied, giving Matt a quick hug.

"Really? Where is he? Is he ok?" Alfred stood and fired the questions like an executioner with a loaded rifle.

"He's in a very bad way. Talking and being a complete smartass back to me, but…" Gilbert paused. "He fell down a ravine. Broke his ankle, dislocated his arm and a possible concussion."

"What are you telling us?" Yao asked, walking into the room. "Where's Ivan?" Nobody pointed out the fact that this was proof that Yao was concerned for the Russian.

"Ivan's fine." Gilbert replied. "He's had to stay with Arthur."

"What? Is Artie too afraid to remain in the hospital alone?" Francis said. Everyone was now in the room.

"But Arthur's not at the hospital? Feliciano said. Ludwig had an arm around him.

"What the hell? Why wouldn't you take him to the hospital?" Alfred yelled out. Frustrated at everything and nothing.

"He's trapped under a dead tree Al." Gilbert said. "We came back because we couldn't move it ourselves. We need everyone to come and help."

Basically, after two seconds of silence and mortuary like stillness, did the room erupt. Everyone was running everywhere. Getting jackets, blankets, rope, cell phones… everything.

And within five minutes, everyone had run out the door to come to Arthur's aid, following Feliciano and Gilbert.

They came to the ravine and the Italian and the Prussian began bolting straight down it without hesitation in the pouring rain.

A few, who hadn't done it earlier, slipped and fell on their asses. Namely Ludwig when he tried to stop Feliciano from bolting.

"THE CALVARY HAS ARRIVED!" Alfred and a few others were startled when Gilbert proclaimed this to the heavens.

If only a joke then may would have been furious at the albino for not taking a critical situation seriously. But all gained a small smile at the statement, knowing what he meant.

They were all coming to help Arthur. He would not have his life taken on this day if the 'cavalry' had anything to do with it.

Arthur was sleeping peacefully, which Ivan thought strange for the situation he was in. If it were himself he knew he would not be able to help from panicking. It made him wonder if Arthur had accepted what fate had in store for him. Had the Englishman simply given up on life and had just been waiting for such a thing to happen to him?

Arthur whimpered a little and just as Ivan soothed his sisters when they were ill, he ran his hands lightly through the blond hair of the Britt, being careful to avoid the matt of blood that made the blond and ugly shade of brown in patchy places.

Then something caught his attention. It sounded like someone shouting to the world, "THE CALIMARI HAS SURVIVED!"

It sounded silly, but nonetheless, Ivan stood up to see all those that had remained after the fiesta due to the blizzard, sprinting down the ravine carrying rope, blankets, med kits and everything. Even a fluffy tomato pillow was in there somewhere. ((Someone plz draw this for me~ -shot- and then put a link to this story through that art if you post it… -stabbed 32 times in the chest-))

The Russian smiled and looked down at Arthur. "Help is here… You be safe now…"

As soon as everyone made it to the bottom of the ravine, they rushed over to Ivan and a plan was quickly made to remove the log and get Arthur to a hospital.

Alfred however stopped and supported himself on a tree. There was so much blood… And he could see the still bleeding open wound that the log was still making. Not to mention the blood matt in the Britt's hair.

So much blood… too much blood…

Mathew turned to look for his brother and couldn't see him. He walked away from the group as they quickly organized themselves to move the log.

"Alfred…?" He called out softly and looked behind a large pine tree. The American was in the fetal position, hugging himself as he threw up, how he did it almost silently, Matt would never know.

The Canadian knelt beside his twin and rested a hand on his back.

"It's ok… He's going to be alright. I know he can pull through this Alfred."

The American wiped the bile from his mouth and turned to Mathew, hugging him and great tearing sobs tore out of his throat. The violet eyed twin stroked his hair and held his head close to his chest so that he couldn't see or hear anything else that was going on.

Mathew began to rock his brother back and forwards slightly as he watched everyone work together to remove the log and set Arthur free.

As soon as the dead wood budged, the Englishman's eyes flashed open and he began screaming so loudly that he could have woken the dead.

Alfred whimpered in his twin's embrace and held onto the bright red hoodie that Mathew always wore.

The log came free and Ivan walked to Arthur and wrapped him in his coat and picked him up, bridal style. The blonde trembled and whimpered, holding onto the front of Ivan's shirt, looking up at the Russian with a mixture of fear and relief.

Shortly after however he fainted and went limp, adding to the weight Ivan had to carry, like dead weight. It didn't bother him though. As he walked up the ravine towards open space so that the ambulance could see them, he left everyone behind as they gathered all the rope and equipment they'd used. He was now out of hearing range, and whispered to the unconscious and limp Englishman. "Alfred loves you Arthur… don't forget it… and because my friend loves you, I love you…"

He smiled and kissed Arthur's brow. No hidden intention, mere friendliness.

"Don't die on us… There is life in you yet."

As he waited at the top of the ravine for the loud siren of the ambulance to appear, he began to hum an Old Russian lullaby.

_Sorry if this is short but it had too end here so that you wouldn't have to wait any longer for it~ _

_Hope you likes it, especially Krezzles, BlackRoseViking, who adores Canada and I think Prussia. _

_Whatever, you'z is all awesome and I hope for many review. _

_2 chapters to go and any little segment suggestions are highly welcome~ _

_Next chapter is in the hospital and last at Matt & Gil's wedding~_

_Luvin you all~ _

_Prussian Mongrel~ XD _


	6. Simply Arthur

_Ok. So now if you guys think this one is late then just please don't complain. I've been working on my Russia America story and it takes a lot of enthusiasm and gist for the story line… Yeah… I'm a sucker for character death, what can I say. Any way, since this fiction is just two chapters away from completion I thought I'd best get cracking with the second last one~ _

_And no… I must inform you all that the calamari did not in fact survive as it made quite a nice dinner. A celebration dinner in fact… for completing God of War 2 on the ps2 for the 4__th__ time. _

_I'm such a game addict. And then there's the role play… now don't get me started on role play. For it is love and I've got friends everywhere now in real life. _

_Aussie Limey, if you're reading this… suck it. Don't be Canada just coz I'm not there Dammit. Krezzles, I know that you're reading this, give her some love. _

_And… JapanEngland gets no love. Which sucks coz I found this awesome picture that would have gone with this story if one of the other endings were chosen. Maybe I should write all four endings and list the chapter titles as alternate ending 1 etc…_

_Anyway, if ya wanna see the pic then just ask and I'll email it to you. _

_But that whole JapanEngland gets no love is coz I've had a new story up few a couple of days and no ones even read it. Is AU and set to have an extensive plotline with many chapters if any one is up for the read. Most of the characters are involved and it is set in World War 7… -shotsies- Involves genetic mutation, character death and ailment just coz I wanna knock them off of the remember to write for them file in the old thinking mechanism. _

_It's also a story I desperately want artists for. Plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz! _

_I will absolutely love forever anyone who reads it! : Newborn Friend_

_Oh… and I suppose I might like you if you read this one I guess… _

/

… Falling…

-Beep-

… Pain…

-Beep-

… Blood…

-Beep-

… Cold…

-Beep-

… Despair…

-Beep-

… Hope…

-Beep-

… Acceptance…

-Beep-

… Ripping…

-Beep-

… Agony…

-Beep-

… Warmth…

-Beep-

… Whispers…

-Beep-

… Singing…

-Beep-

… Sirens…

-Beep-

… Numb.

/

Beep… beep… beep.

He frowned. But the incessant beeping continued. All he wanted to do was sleep. He was just so tired that he wanted to go back to sleep.

But no, he lay there; awake with the stupid beeping in his head. For a second a wild fear fluttered to his heart and mind. He wasn't in the hospital was he…?

He couldn't be. What had happened…?

But then the beeping stopped.

Okay…? He thought. It didn't mean he was dead. A long continuous beep signaled that.

So what on earth was going o… Oh never mind!

The beeping had stopped and he could feel himself slipping back into sleep again. Silence be praised and he could almost feel the tugs of sleep when…

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

His eyes flashed open in surprise and he fell out of the bed, landing on the floor with a thunk.

He was terrified for a moment before he realized what was making that sound, and he glared at the alarm clock. He grabbed the nearest thing he could find, a shoe, and pegged it at the black device. It shut up on contact and obtained a large dent, cracking the plastic cover.

"Is everything alright…?"

He looked to the door and saw Kiku looking in on him with a concerned expression.

"Ah… No… I mean, Yes. Everything is just peachy." Arthur said and huffed as the Asian chuckled and came to help him up.

"You should be thankful, Arthur-san, that Mathew and Gilbert decided to get married here." The raven haired male smiled and strapped an odd brace to Arthur's foot as he sat on the edge of his bed. "It would be harder to travel to Canada at the moment as originally intended."

"I can't believe it's a week away…" Arthur mused. Kiku smiled and prepared to go and make some breakfast. Just as he did, Arthur grabbed his hand and when Kiku turned to looked at him, something fluttered in his stomach. "… Thank you… for taking care of me ever since I came out of the hospital." A blush crept over the Asian's face and he nodded with a smile.

"It's fine… but now that your back is fully mended… you shouldn't need me anymore."

"Well I hope you'll still come around when you can… I really enjoy these conversations."

"Y-yes…" Kiku nodded again and Arthur released his hand, much to his disappointment. The Asian smiled lightly and went to make breakfast.

It had been almost a full year since Arthur had been on death's door, literally. He'd spent five months in hospital with a concussion, three broken ribs, a broken ankle and sprained shoulder from being dislocated, hypothermia, blood loss and a fractured spine. He had been so very lucky that the log didn't break it.

For the last six months, Kiku had boarded with him as his caretaker until he could take care of himself again.

And the Asian had truly enjoyed his time with the Englishman. Butterflies came to his stomach every time he had to take Arthur's hand to help him up and down the stairs or his cooking was complimented by the blonde.

He didn't want to leave after the wedding, which Mathew and Gilbert had postponed for Arthur to get better. He would have given anything to stay.

But no. Arthur still loved a certain blonde who was America and whose name was Alfred. He still loved him even though the younger, brasher one had gone out of his way to ignore the Englishman ever since the day he'd been pulled from the log.

It hurt Arthur a lot. But he still loved him.

And because he did, Kiku went along with it quietly.

Because for some reason, the Asian thought that Alfred would quit being such a child and talk to Arthur again. All he needed was a little push.

It hurt him to do this, but Arthur was happy loving Alfred and from speaking with Alfred during that Christmas blizzard, he knew that the American loved Arthur back.

And so as he cooked breakfast, Kiku began to deviate a devious plan. But he needed everyone attending Mathew and Gilbert's wedding to cooperate. That meant he had a lot of phone calls to make in the next week.

"Smell's delicious." Kiku blushed as Arthur limped into the kitchen, one foot padded by a sock and the other a large heavy brace. "Is there anything I can do…?"

"Could you please make some tea…?" The blond smiled and nodded and proceeded with the preparation. Kiku giggled inwardly to himself. Arthur couldn't cook food. But his tea was nice. Not gourmet or exotic. Just homely. Just Arthur's.

/

_Yes… Mwahahahahahahah! Mwahahaha for the shortness!__ But it's just a quick tit bit before the big finale… plus I sort of forgot what I was going to do with this chapter…_

_Oh… And English people do make lovely tea. They also make the most delicious English breakfasts ever. Their fish and chips can find no equal and their steak is the thickest and juiciest in the world. _

_And I had an Englishman make me one of the best roast dinners ever, the meat juicy and succulent and the outer flesh crispy and full of flavor. And then on the side there were these gorgeous hollowed out baked potatoes filled with the mashed insides of the potatoes with bits of bacon and cheese. Mmm…_

_I'm going to go and have some now…_

_In the meanwhile could you please leave a nice juicy roasted review~ 3 Thankyou~_

_Prussian Mongrel _


	7. Three new Beginnings at the End

_Finale~! Final chapter! Enjoy it and I am sorry for the lateness. A lot of stuff has been happening lately which has prevented me from writing on the most part. :3 But you still love me. I know it._

/

Mathew smiled as Feliciano and Yao helped him dress. For all the drama and disaster and delay to happen in the passed year, he would finally be marrying Gilbert. Today was the day everyone would pay attention to the invisible one. And though he found it a bit overbearing than what he was used to, he found it nice not to be so unseen and unheard.

"Yo Matt, looking great!" The Canadian jumped when he realized that his twin had stepped into the room.

"Ayah! You're not meant to be in here Alfred, aru!' Yao made an attempt at ushering the blonde out but he just slipped past him and caught his twin in a bone-crushing hug.

"A-Ah! Alfred!"

"Don't worry Matt, I'm not gonna ruin your dress." The American sniggered and pulled away. "Anyway, I'm here on an errand. Two actually. Yao, say cheese~!"

"Wha-?" But before the Chinaman could say anything, a flash blinded him temporarily and Alfred laughed.

"Sorry Yao. Ivan asked me to."

As he rubbed his eyes back into a good sight, Yao blushed. Since Arthur's accident, he and Ivan had been going out but it had only been official for the past month. Now Yao had always liked Ivan, but he had still been so surprised at the Russians personality when you really got to know him personally.

He was truly doting, and never one to cling but always around if needed or wanted. And he never pushed for anything more than what they already had together. Which Yao was utmost thankful for because the thought of something MORE than some of the serious sessions they had where they were left half undressed and unsatisfied, truly terrified him. He just didn't feel ready and Ivan respected his wishes and cut it off whenever Yao started to panic.

The Chinaman truly hoped that his relationship with the Russian would lead somewhere similar to Mathew and Gilbert now.

"Yao? Hey Yao?"

The raven haired male looked up to see Alfred waving a hand in his face.

"I… uh, what is the other errand, aru?"

"oh… Gilbert said to make sure that Mattie definitely wears the garter." Alfred dashed out of the room leaving Mathew scarlet, Yao irritated and Feliciano a little clueless but happy enough to get back to preparing Mathew.

/

"Hurry up Arthur-san… we're going to be late." Kiku stressed and walked over to the Englishman, helping him to the door. The blonde chuckled and dragged his temporarily useless foot along in its insanely heavy brace.

"We might already be out the door and taking our seats if this thing weren't strapped to my leg." The Asian giggled and rolled his eyes at the Englishman's remark.

"What's making us late is your complaining Arthur-san." Kiku smiled as he let him get into the passenger seat of the car.

"Harsh Kiku… Harsh."

With a slight giggle, Kiku started the engine and they were off to the most anticipated and delayed nation wedding ever.

/

It ran like every pre-wedding preparations, rushed, complicated and confusing.

But at the set time, with the late afternoon sunlight casting patterns through the stain glass windows of the old monastery, everyone took their seats.

The wedding ran so smooth that no one realized that Mathew and Gilbert were married until they were being herded outside and were back in their cars… and then they were at the reception.

From old time chapel to a modern day structure of glass, iron and thick beams polished pine, the restaurant they had booked for the evening was divine, and though they were in England, the food couldn't have been more wonderful. Though a few eyebrows were raised when Francis was speaking in rapid French with the manager as though old friends.

It seemed his secret to surviving when in England was revealed.

And how could jokes not be made about such a thing. But Arthur didn't mind. Today was for Mathew… the boy deserved nothing less and he was truly radiant, though he had gotten sick of wearing the dress and was now just casually dress in black skinny jeans and a tight fitting white top that came halfway down his thighs and to his knuckles, but left his shoulders bare. Yes it was a woman's top, but Gilbert insisted that he looked amazing. Especially with his hair still up and the little glittering white crystal beads still threaded through it. He even still wore the light makeup that had been used to aid in hiding his gender from the priest.

Arthur chuckled to himself as Gilbert came up behind his new 'wife' and picked him up, arms around his waist and spun him around.

And then he had the strangest thought and longing at that… He wondered if he would ever be like that one day…

"Is something on your mind Arthur-san…?"

The blonde blinked and turned to face Kiku who was sitting beside him.

"Um… sure… why don't you go and spend some time with everyone else rather than sit here with me all night…?"

The Asian smiled and shrugged.

"I don't mind… besides… I think it's getting a bit too lively for me out there."

Arthur laughed and nodded in agreement, pushing his stupid thoughts out of the way in favor of talking with Kiku for a large majority of the evening.

/

"Gah! Matt! You look like a woman!" Alfred laughed cheerily and snatched him away from Gilbert while they had been dancing, half throwing him over his shoulder. "Sorry Gil, I'm his bro so I'm having a dance with him." He grinned and took him to the other side of the dance floor, his albino brother-in-law getting swamped by Antonio and Francis now he was on his own.

"Why didn't you ask if you could butt in… rather than just butting in…?" Mathew asked, sighing slightly, but still with a small smile as his brother set him down and started to dance with him.

"Meh… quicker this way. And it didn't give him the chance to say no."

"You're my brother Alfred… he wouldn't have said no."

"Yeah… well… maybe I just wanted to dance with someone and you were already standing so…"

Mathew blinked as the American trailed off. He saw he was looking out the corner of his eyes and followed Alfred's line of sight.

He was watching Arthur… it could have been mistaken as looking at Kiku… but after all that had happened in the past year… He knew better. Alfred had his eyes on Arthur.

"Al… why don't you ask him to dance with you…?"

The American sighed and tore his eyes away from the Englishman.

"Because… His foot is still in that brace… he has to drag it around just to walk so… no…"

"Why don't you just talk to him then…?"

"I… I can't… and besides… Kiku's talking to him."

"You know what… you're avoiding him."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are… and you know it. We ALL know it… ever since the accident. You never visited him after he woke up at the hospital… And since he got out… well you've always got some convenient errand to run for Tony or your boss whenever he enters the room."

"I… I-Just drop it Matt…"

"Not until you tell me why… I'm your brother… it's my job to grow up with you, kick your ass in hockey… and listen to you…"

Alfred sighed, biting his bottom lip before giving in and nodding.

"It was my fault he got hurt… I can't face him… If I didn't show up to the Christmas party… then he wouldn't have gotten upset and run out… it's my fault… I almost killed him." Alfred stopped moving, ceasing their dance and looked down, shame, anger, sorrow… all written across his face… He looked back up, bot bothering to hide that he was watching Arthur again. And Mathew saw it clear as day throughout his brother's whole being… He saw it every day when he caught Gilbert watching him… no. Not arrogance… Love.

"Al… I promise that this is all going to work out."

"… Thanks Matt…"

/

The night came to a fast close, the horizon turning pink and the inkiness of the night sky fading away as the sun fought to break through. Gilbert and Mathew stood at the front entrance of the restaurant, waiting until everyone calmed down and paid attention to them.

As is tradition, Gilbert stepped forward first… holding the garter in the air.

"Whichever guy gets this has to be the next to get married." He grinned and went to throw it in the air, before grinning like he had a wicked plan and he turned it to a slingshot, aim, and fired.

The garter flew like a deadly missile and collided with a certain surprised American's chest.

Alfred looked at it cluelessly as he picked it up and frowned.

"Gilbert… what the fuck is this…? It's meant to be random."

"Hey… I'm married to your brother so SHUT THE FUCK UP bro in law. Your turn Matt." The possibly insane Prussian stepped back and Mathew stepped in front. Usually the bouquet would only get thrown for the girls, but in this case it didn't count.

He smiled and walked up to Arthur, pushing it into his hands.

As the Englishman stared dumbstruck at the flowers… Mathew walked over to an even more dumbfounded Alfred and smacked him across the back of the head, bringing him back down to earth.

The American looked at him before the next second, several pairs of hands were at his back pushing him towards Arthur.

"H-Hey! What the fuck are you all doing…?"

Gilbert sighed. He just really wanted to get on that plane and get his honey moon on a roll.

"OH SHUT THE FUCK UP AL AND KISS YOUR BOYFRIEND ALREADY!"

"W-What?" Arthur blinked and his face turned scarlet.

"Look… you're both great… but right now I'm tired, cranky and you're all delaying my honeymoon… so freakin kiss already… No time for romantic one hour long mental speeches on how much you love each other. Just kiss… and like… go home and fuck."

Arthur blushed insanely but the next second he had strong arms around him and Alfred's lips against his. He smiled brightly as he kissed back and all the nation clapped or cheered with the energy they had left from the party.

Gilbert was right about something… It was better without having to wait through mental speeches. Because now… finally… he belonged to Alfred.

/

Kiku smiled tiredly, everyone gone, he was just cleaning a few things up so that the workers of the restaurant who had gone home long before, didn't have too hard a job.

He was carrying a bag of rubbish to an outside bin when he slipped on a patch of water.

The first thing he thought was, crap…

But then he wasn't falling and he was being pulled back up onto his feet.

He blinked and shook his head before looking to see who it was.

"Be more careful next time ya' hear…" He looked up and saw he was still being held up by Nederlands… or to be more casual… Niels…

"Um… hai… alright… Arigatou…"

The blonde smiled and nodded. "Ya' look tired… want to get somethin to eat…?"

Kiku paused…. But then he smiled and nodded. "Hai… that sounds nice."


End file.
